opportunity

All posts tagged opportunity

I have not been to Rwanda. However, I have met Emmanuel Sitaki, a Rwandan Tutsi who miraculously escaped the 1994 genocide. Emmanuel now leads a ministry that is equipping the orphans who are quickly becoming young adults to support themselves and generate wealth for their communities and nation. See Emmanuel’s story and more information about his ministry at www.ermrwanda.org.

Emmanuel needs trainers. Experienced entrepreneurs, teacher trainers, English speakers, etc, are needed to prepare the orphans for success in the Rwandan marketplace. Emmanuel told me yesterday that they currently have 200 young people enrolled in their 9 month program. He is looking for help teaching the orphans and training the local trainers. The program is flexible and Emmanuel will work to accommodate your availability.

Last November I spent about a week in Zimbabwe. Laura, my Anda Leadership colleague, and I had been invited there to explore the possibilities for us to add value in that context. We asked, “What, if anything, can we do to help expand Christ’s Kingdom in that place?” The business people have been through a traumatic few years as the national economy went through hyper-inflation which was reigned in by switching to US dollar-cash only. Dollarization is causing a different set of problems.

Even though we did not have a lot of time, we were able to meet with a diverse group of business people, mostly at their businesses. We listened to their stories and tried to imagine what it was like to have your world destabilized and your business destroyed. These people were candid about what had been lost. However, they were also hopeful about the future. They believe opportunities are before them and they want to move forward. They asked us, “What can we do to restore our businesses? What is the best way forward?”

They long for links with the rest of the world. They feel a sense of urgency because the world is moving on and leaving them behind. They are anxious to meet with Westerners because they hope we might have some insight about how they can structure the wonderful human and natural resources available to them to create a better future for their families, communities, and country.

I have been urged to return soon. I am delighted that it is working out for me to go back in a few weeks. I intend to spend much of March 2013 in Zimbabwe. I will again meet with community and business leaders. I am looking for business and professional people to travel with me. Do you, or someone you know, have business or professional experience that you are willing to share with the people of Zimbabwe? They have plenty of resources. They need relational connections and insight. Will you join me in giving them a hand up?